Open-source FRC code

[bear24rw]

I think it would be cool if we had a place on chiefdelphi where we could all dump our code from the past years into, i guess you could do it with white papers but a place specifically for posting code snippets and example code would be nice

[lukevanoort]

Originally Posted by 11Mort11

default code now is ok but open source auton that is written by a teams programmers would probably take away from the competition from team to team to see who has the best code/programmers. there should be other ways to help new teams such as having examples of past years just not open source for the current year

I don't really think that that would happen. Teams have been publishing gearbox designs (with dimensioned drawings and a BOM) for years, and I don't think that has lowered the level of competition. Even if it did make it easier for rookies to write amazing autonomous routines, the competition would still be there--just at a higher level. Plus, I don't think autonomous code from one year will necessarily be applicable to the next (with a few notable exceptions like StangPS). For example, our coolest autonomous routine this year (that never ran.... stupid turret broke) is about 1000 lines of very specialized code; I know that it would be almost completely useless to use much of its structure in the 2006, 2005, 2004, and 2003 games. So, I assume 2008 code will be unusable in 2009 (especially since the control system is changing). In summary, my view of the use of open-source'd robot code is like what Amanda Morrison said about learning to solve a Rubik's Cube:

Originally Posted by Amanda Morrison

Sometimes, having someone that can teach you just shows you another way to do what you've been doing, but in less moves.

[shawger]

Originally Posted by JBotAlan

Since Kevin Watson has expressly stated that he does not want his files re-posted, I am not going to re-post them. It is perfectly fine to GPL my portions of the project. I am also not re-posting IFI-written code as they still hold the copyright whether or not they choose to enforce it. If this project takes off, I am going to make it very clear that people can only license what they own, and nothing more.

JBot

Originally Posted by http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html

What does it mean to say that two licenses are "compatible"?

In order to combine two programs (or substantial parts of them) into a larger work, you need to have permission to use both programs in this way. If the two programs' licenses permit this, they are compatible. If there is no way to satisfy both licenses at once, they are incompatible.

Can I apply the GPL when writing a plug-in for a non-free program?

If the program dynamically links plug-ins, and they make function calls to each other and share data structures, we believe they form a single program, which must be treated as an extension of both the main program and the plug-ins. This means that combination of the GPL-covered plug-in with the non-free main program would violate the GPL. However, you can resolve that legal problem by adding an exception to your plug-in's license, giving permission to link it with the non-free main program.

IANAL, but unless I'm reading this wrong, that would imply that the entire program must be licensed under the GPL, which it is not.

[seanwitte]

There have been rules in past seasons that more or less require a full rewrite of the code from year to year. While it would be a good learning resource, the code could not be used without modification on an FRC entry.

[JBotAlan]

Originally Posted by shawger

IANAL, but unless I'm reading this wrong, that would imply that the entire program must be licensed under the GPL, which it is not.

If I license my code under the GPL and release one or two files, it has no ties to any other pieces of code. At all.

You download it, you put it in your project, but realize that you cannot distribute the entire project now--you cannot relicense the entire thing to be GPL. But that's irrelevant--if you are using this for a private use, the GPL does not apply to any of it.

From the GPL FAQ:

The GPL permits anyone to make a modified version and use it without ever distributing it to others. [snip] It is essential for people to have the freedom to make modifications and use them privately, without ever publishing those modifications.

I think this is entirely clear.

I will take into consideration future rule changes, and may write my own license, because we do *not* want teams to copy anything out of this code repository verbatim.

JBot